Module 3: Discussion Forum
New Foundational Skill
Decision Making
Baseline Skill
Critical Thinking
Baseline Skill
Leadership
Baseline Skill
Organizational Skills
Baseline Skill
Research
Baseline Skill
Writing
Business-Enabling Skill
Communicating Data
Business-Enabling Skill
Oral & Written Communication
New Economy Skill
Cognitive Flexibility
New Economy Skill
Critical Thinking
New Economy Skill
Emotional Intelligence
New Economy Skill
Judgment & Decision Making
Part 1: Initial Post
Read:
Choose one of the essays from the most recent issue of SEED (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. magazine.
Write:
Put the title of the essay in the subject of your post. Write a response (100-400 words) in which you explore the following:
Briefly summarize the article.
Note what you see as some of the most memorable details from the essay.
Be sure to note the author’s thesis.
What do you think of the author’s thesis/premise?
Do you think the author is credible and makes sense?
If yes, explain why.
If no, explain why.
Finally, note how you will apply these skills of analysis as you analyze evidence inserted into the argument/thesis for your final Portfolio Project.
Part 2: Responses to Peers
After you have posted your own main response to the Discussion assignment, post at least two substantive responses, a minimum of 100 words each, to other students’ main postings, offering specific feedback about the ideas they posted. You must post your main Discussion posting before you can reply to other students.
A substantive post will do at least ONE of the following:
Ask an interesting, thoughtful question pertaining to the topic
Answer a question (in detail) posted by another student or the instructor
Provide extensive additional information on the topic
Explain, define, or analyze the topic in detail
Share an applicable personal experience
Provide an outside source (for example, a website) that applies to the topic, along with additional information about the topic or the source (please cite properly in APA)
Make an argument concerning the topic.
Module 3: Critical Thinking
Baseline Skill
Organizational Skills
Baseline Skill
Problem Solving
Baseline Skill
Research
Baseline Skill
Time Management
Baseline Skill
Writing
Business-Enabling Skill
Oral & Written Communication
Business-Enabling Skill
Project Management
New Economy Skill
Critical Thinking
New Economy Skill
Judgment & Decision Making
Important! Read First
Choose one of the following two assignments to complete this week. Do not do both assignments. Identify your assignment choice in the title of your submission.
Option #1: Critical Thinking Assignment: Annotated Bibliography (Local/State)
In Module 2, you began conducting research for your final paper examining a local/state social issue. By now, you already have a developed research topic and a working thesis statement, along with a small bibliography of resources for support.
Annotate all sources, using college-level writing skills and proper APA style for quoting, summarizing, and paraphrasing sources. Begin your annotated bibliography by describing your research plan at the top of the page.
Requirements:
To fulfill the research component of this assignment, you must do the following:
Conduct several searches using any of the databases in the Library.
Select three to five scholarly peer-reviewed sources from your library search that support the
topics and arguments you plan to present in your Portfolio paper.
To fulfill the written component of this assignment, you must do the following:
Include a title page that is formatted in proper APA style. List APA-style references in alphabetical order along with your unique paragraph summaries.
Annotated paragraphs must be original and should not be copied from abstracts or other summaries. Format your assignment according to APA style as outlined in CSU-Global Guide to Writing & APA (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..
Your annotated bibliography should be double-spaced with one-inch margins and use a 12-point Times New Roman font.
Your annotations should contain the following elements: (annotations template linked below)
A summary (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., in your own words, of the information presented in the article.
Your analysis of the best use of this information for your final paper, written in your own words.
Identification of a possible topic sentence and/or claim the information will support.
Refer to the Critical Thinking Assignment Rubric available in the Module 3 Folder for more information on assignment expectations and grading.
Option #2: Critical Thinking Assignment: Annotated Bibliography (National/Global)
In Module 2, you began conducting research for your final paper examining a national/global social issue. By now, you already have a developed research topic and a working thesis statement, along with a small bibliography of resources for support.
Annotate all sources, using college-level writing skills and proper APA style for quoting, summarizing, and paraphrasing sources. Begin your annotated bibliography by describing your research plan at the top of the page.
Requirements:
To fulfill the research component of this assignment, you must do the following:
Conduct several searches using any of the databases in the Library.
Select three to five scholarly peer-reviewed sources from your library search that support the topics and arguments you plan to present in your Portfolio paper.
To fulfill the written component of this assignment, you must do the following:
Include a title page that is formatted in proper APA style. List APA-style references in alphabetical order along with your unique paragraph summaries.
Annotated paragraphs must be original and should not be copied from abstracts or other summaries. Format your assignment according to APA style as outlined in CSU-Global Guide to Writing & APA (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..
Your annotated bibliography should be double-spaced with one-inch margins and use a 12-point Times New Roman font.
Your annotations should contain the following elements: (annotations template linked below)
A summary (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., in your own words, of the information presented in the article.
Your analysis of the best use of this information for your final paper, written in your own words.
Identification of a possible topic sentence and/or claim the information will support.
Module 3: Annotated Bibliography Template
Expert Answer
Discussion Part
On Peace
This article, on the SEED Magazine, discusses the issue of world peace in depth (Zajfman, 2011). The author explains how scientific research has revolutionized the world; resulting in changes in how we work, play, and live. The article looks at how science has evolved over the years, from the ancient ages when man was experimenting with new weapons (spears) design, to the modern times where science has achieved the ability to make human beings live longer. The author notes that warfare and the lack of peace have been the leading motivators for scientific research and inventions, giving examples of inventions such as the lever and the pulley which were used in military operations. The article also discusses how science is a common ground on which different countries can work to together to improve the world (Zajfman, 2011). The author’s thesis is that even though history can make it difficult to achieve peace, science offers a common ground upon which countries can collaborate to improve the world.
The author is credible as he is able to prove his thesis in the article, providing examples of countries that have worked together and established lasting diplomatic relations as a result of scientific research. For instance, the author gives the example of the collaboration between the Germans and the Israelis after WWII. According to the author, “the first contact between Germans and Israelis took place between scientists of the Weizmann Institute in Israel and the Max Planck Society in Germany” (Zajfman, 2011). The scientific collaborations and meetings between the scientists from these countries gave birth to a lasting diplomatic relationship between the countries. The credibility of an article can be weighed by looking at the evidence provided and the credibility of the information sources used. I plan on using this skill to question the credibility of an academic article or publication before using it in any research.
References
Zajfman, D. (2011, January 21). Seed Magazine. Retrieved January 28, 2019, from http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/on_peace1/
Critical Thinking Part
Income Inequality in the United States: Annotated Bibliography
Working Thesis Statement: The current income inequality problem in the United States can only be solved through investment in human capital.
Ruggiero, J., & Hirsch, E. (1992). The Rich Get Richer: The Rise of Income Inequality in the United States and the World/Assets and the Poor: A New American Welfare Policy. Clinical Sociology Review, 10(1), 25.
This review broadly analyzes the state of economic inequality and the rate of poverty in the United States. The rise of income inequality in the United States during the 1980s period is largely discussed, and the authors show how the basic attributes of the country’s economic system, including labor markets, compensation programs, and deindustrialization, and the tax and spending policies have contributed to the widening wealth and income disparities. The review discusses several costs that are associated with increased income inequality, including economic stagnation, increased political violence, and social problems for middle-class and working families. The authors of this article utilize academic research to base their arguments. Based on this article, I can claim that the causes of income inequality in the United States are mostly related to the economic and tax policies of the country. This article will be important in answering the first research question in my research – RQ1: What are the reasons behind the income inequality in the United States?
Dabla-Norris, M. E., Kochhar, M. K., Suphaphiphat, M. N., Ricka, M. F., & Tsounta, E. (2015). Causes and consequences of income inequality: a global perspective. International Monetary Fund.
This article discusses the issue of income inequality, a problem that is experienced in many countries today. The article explains how the income gap between the poor and the rich continues to widen in countries with advanced economies. The authors provide a discussion of the various causes or reasons behind the increasing income inequality in advanced economies, such as the United States, and provide a number of ways through which the problem may be dealt with. The authors propose that policymakers ought to focus on the middle class and the poor since these groups matter the most in national growth. An investigation is conducted on the trends in the development of income inequality in advanced economies, focusing on the role of the poor and the middle class. The authors conduct studies on the level of income inequality in various countries, using credible publications and newspaper articles as the basis of their arguments. Base on this article, I can comfortably state that ensuring that the poor have access to healthcare and education, or investing in the improvement of the middle class is one of the best ways of dealing with income inequality. This article will provide information necessary to understand what causes income inequality and how it can be solved.
Peterson, E. (2017). Is economic inequality really a problem? a review of the arguments. Social Sciences, 6(4), 147.
In this article, the author broadly discusses the various causes of the increasing income inequality in various countries. The consequences of income inequality, including its effect on society and the economy of a country are addressed by the author. The author also addresses the amount of attention that income inequality has been getting in recent years, expressing the opinions of various groups of people, some who do not think that the issue deserves all the attention that it gets while others believe that income inequality is a vice that needs to be eradicated by dealing with it appropriately. The consequences of income inequality on economic growth, economic efficiency, democracy, politics, and society are analyzed in depth. The author addresses income inequality as a social ill, looking at its causes and how it can be dealt with. The author basis his arguments and findings on academic sources that are credible. Based on this article, I can conclude that income inequality is a social and national problem that requires an address. This article will provide answers on how best the country can deal with income inequality.
Hutton, W. (2007, January 09). Will Hutton: Low wage competition isn’t to blame for western job losses and inequality. Retrieved January 28, 2019, from https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2007/jan/09/comment.china
This newspaper article, on The Guardian, provides a discussion of the various reasons behind the income inequality and job losses in the United States. The author notes that a majority of people blame the income inequality in the western economies, such as the United States, on the low wage competition coming from countries such as China. The author does not believe this claim to be true. Through the use of economic and business-based arguments, the author discredits the claim that the availability of cheap labor from Asian countries and other regions is the reason behind the increasing income inequality and loss of jobs in the United States and other Western economies. The author of the article, Will Hutton, is a writer for the Observer. He is also the principal of Hertford College, Oxford, and chair of the Big Innovation Centre. Based on this article, I can claim that the increase in the availability of cheap labor is not the reason behind the income inequality in the United States. This article questions the assumption that income inequality in the United States is as a result of American companies outsourcing cheap labor from Asian countries.
Murphy, K. M., & Topel, R. H. (2016). Human capital investment, inequality, and economic growth. Journal of Labor Economics, 34(S2), S99-S127.
This article discusses the issue of investing in human capital and its relation to income inequality and economic growth. The authors explain how investing in human capital would be the best way to deal with the increasing income inequality in the country. According to the authors, income inequality is the result of the failure of human capital investment to match the pace of rising demand for skills. Investment in human capital affects the supply of skills and the level of salaries that people get when employed. According to the authors, investment in human capital influences the intensive margins of human capital utilization and acquisition. The authors use academic information sources in their arguments and explain the relationship that exists between income inequality and human capital. Based on this article, I can claim that investment in human capital is the best way to deal with the increasing income inequality in the United States. This article will be important is providing information on how investment in human capital can be used against income inequality.